Home

September 2, 2014

India-Russia pact planned for new BrahMos missile version

Supersonic cruise missile manufacturer BrahMos Aerospace on Monday said
it is hopeful that a pact to develop a sleeker and faster 'mini' version
of the missile will be signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin's
visit to India in December this year.

"We are hoping to sign a
tripartite agreement between DRDO, NPOM lab and BrahMos Aerospace during
the planned visit of Russian president in December," BrahMos chief
Sudhir Mishra told PTI in an interview.

Soon after taking over as
CEO of the the Indo-Russian joint venture on Monday, he said the mini
version of the BrahMos missile will have a speed of 3.5 mach and carry a
payload of 300 km upto a range of 290 km. In size, it will be almost
half of the present missile, which is around 10 metres long.

Mishra
said once developed, the missile could be integrated with different
platforms including submarines and the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft
(FGFA) being developed jointly by the two countries.

The new
BrahMos CEO said he was expecting that the missile would be inducted
into the services by 2017 and "there would be a huge market for the new
missile in India, Russia and friendly foreign countries"Mishra said the air-launched version of the BrahMos missile was under progress and the first test-firing is expected to take place by either the end of this year or the beginning of the next year.

"We
have already modified our missile system in terms of its weight and
size. The Su-30MKI is undergoing modification so as to carry the strike
weapon in its belly in partnership with the HAL," he said.